Michael Cavacini’s Top 5: Wes Craven Movies

My friend and following blogger, Michael Cavacini, has once again stopped by Vic’s Movie Den to grace my site with yet another very cool “Top 5”List.

This time it is his Top 5 Wes Craven Movies! Many thanks to Michael for taking the time and effort to put together a very entertaining and fun Top 5 List. Michael runs his own blog of course full of some great book reviews, movie reviews and video clips done by Michael himself. Please stop by and visit his page here: www.michaelcavacini.com

Tell him Vic sent ya!

My Five Favorite Wes Craven Movies

By Michael Cavacini

1.) Wes Craven’s New Nightmare

Wes Craven’s New Nightmare is my all-time favorite horror film. If you enjoy the Nightmare on Elm Street series, New Nightmare was Craven’s love letter to fans. Not only did the film pay homage to the original in many ways, it capped off the franchise in a fitting way. Everything about this movie was perfect. The acting was top-notch, the script was strong and the score was spectacular. If you’re a horror fan, you have to give this a shot, but only do so after watching the original Nightmare on Elm Street.

2.) A Nightmare on Elm Street

A Nightmare on Elm Street was the greatest horror movie of the 1980s and one of the best ever. Heather Lagenkamp did a terrific job as a strong heroine, something that was hard to find in horror movies at the time. Robert Englund was fantastic as Freddy Krueger. Englund is easily the best horror actor since Vincent Price, and the Shakespearean thespian put his talents on full display in this seminal film. Other standout performances included Ronee Blakley as Nancy’s mother where she uttered one of my favorite lines in cinematic history: “He can’t get you now. He’s dead, honey…because Mommy killed him.” This movie was also Johnny Depp’s first film, and he turned in a solid performance. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the wonderful score by Charles Bernstein; without it, there never would have been that classic piano theme that the franchise is known for.

3.) Scream

Fresh off of New Nightmare, Wes Craven had a renaissance with theScream franchise. While there were four films in total, the first was the best. Like A Nightmare on Elm Street, it featured a strong female lead, this time in Neve Campbell. What made it compelling was Scream played out like a mystery and the characters openly mocked the traditional horror film conventions (e.g., never leave the room and say, “I’ll be right back.”). This twist-filled tale gave birth to a new generation of slasher films more than 10 years after Freddy Krueger was born. It was a testament to Craven’s staying power and ability to innovate in an industry that’s constantly changing.

4.) Red Eye

Almost 10 years after the original Scream, Wes Craven released another masterpiece: Red Eye. Instead of being a gory horror film, Red Eye was full of suspense and had an intriguing plot. While Rachel McAdams was a great damsel in distress, Cillian Murphy was one of the most nefarious villains I’ve ever seen. Everything from the way he looked to the way he spoke, Murphy completely inhabited the role and made it his own. This is one you can’t miss.

5.) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

In 1987, Wes Craven returned to the Elm Street franchise for the third entry. While he didn’t produce or direct it, he did assist with the screenplay. Many fans view this as the best sequel in the franchise. Obviously, I don’t. I consider it to be the second best. That said, it had some excellent one-liners by Freddy and featured a strong cast, included Heather Langenkamp returning as Nancy, Patricia Arquette as the female lead and Laurence Fishburne prior to his Matrix days. The title song, “Dream Warriors,” by Dokken was pretty awesome too.

Excellent post! Thanks again, Michael.

Please come back soon to Vic’s Movie Den! We can’t wait for the next Top 5 List!